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Fantasy I Was Supposed To Become a Hero but Got Stuck in a Deadend Job Instead

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Jayce gives him a strange look, confused. If he thinks there's something he can do, why not try, "well... ok?" He removed his shirt and attempted the spell again as instructed. A seal starts to glow on his back once again, clearly magic used for sealing something. With closer expection it seems to prevent mana to be converted into spells. It's simple in construction yet quite potent, clearly the work of a powerful mage. This new attempt Failed as Jayce expected it to, "so, any ideas? Is there anything you can do?"
 
"Yeah, but now he's cowering in a corner. I expected to only make him nervous and get him to stop being stuck up. Also to have him take me more seriously. Yes, I have gone overboard before. I admit that, but I didn't expect the king to break so easily. I guess a life as a royal doesn't exactly harden willpower." Aenera said. "Elafared, get up. Pull yourself together, we are going to he council."

The king flinched. As he got up, his body language was submissive and he was nervous and shaky. "I... er... okay." He said. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "Your highness, are you okay?" A grin on Aenera's face grew with her eyes squinting. An aura of malice surrounded her. "Yes are you okay, Elafared?" Aenera said. The king then called out: "Yes! I am fine! I only stumbled a little! No injuries! We will be out soon to meet the council."

Aenera approached the king and touched his cheek. She then said: "Good boy. See? If you behave, you will be fine. You will stay alive and as long as you don't drag others in, they will be fine too. It would be awful if you maximized the loss of life." Aenera then grabbed Hekate and the king by their hands and led them to the door. "With good cooperation, we should do good as a team and we can negotiate a win-win. And if any treacherous bastards intend any harm, I can't guarantee their safety. So now let us go." Aenera said before opening the door. The king was still nervous and submissive in demeanor but manage to put on a somewhat convincing posture of security.

They travelled down a long hallway to an exit. Royal guards in front and behind them. From the palace to the council chamber building it was about a three minute walk through a garden with a wide path in the middle. "A nice garden you have here Elafared." Aenera said. The king tried to avoid eye contact, uncomfortable with Aenera's presence but prisoner to it for now. They then entered the building. "King Elafared and the crown princess of Vyyzantfyr. We have been expecting you. Please wait here until the council is ready to receive your presence." An elf staffer said as he directed them to sit in a lounge.

"Use your True Touch ability to check for dangers." Aenera whispered to Hekate.

----Yfirryn----

Jayce took off his shirt and tried to use the spell again. Kren then saw a seal light up on Jayce's back. It was simple yet effective for a seal. "There is a seal on your back preventing you from manifesting spells with your mana. I will attempt to dispell it." Kren said. He then held his hand over the seal using a dispell spell on it. It needed a good amount of mana making Kren break a sweat, however when Kren was done, the seal seemed to be gone. "Looks like it is gone now. How about you retry the spell." Kren said to Jayce.
 
Aniihya said:
"Yeah, but now he's cowering in a corner. I expected to only make him nervous and get him to stop being stuck up. Also to have him take me more seriously. Yes, I have gone overboard before. I admit that, but I didn't expect the king to break so easily. I guess a life as a royal doesn't exactly harden willpower." Aenera said. "Elafared, get up. Pull yourself together, we are going to he council."

The king flinched. As he got up, his body language was submissive and he was nervous and shaky. "I... er... okay." He said. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "Your highness, are you okay?" A grin on Aenera's face grew with her eyes squinting. An aura of malice surrounded her. "Yes are you okay, Elafared?" Aenera said. The king then called out: "Yes! I am fine! I only stumbled a little! No injuries! We will be out soon to meet the council."

Aenera approached the king and touched his cheek. She then said: "Good boy. See? If you behave, you will be fine. You will stay alive and as long as you don't drag others in, they will be fine too. It would be awful if you maximized the loss of life." Aenera then grabbed Hekate and the king by their hands and led them to the door. "With good cooperation, we should do good as a team and we can negotiate a win-win. And if any treacherous bastards intend any harm, I can't guarantee their safety. So now let us go." Aenera said before opening the door. The king was still nervous and submissive in demeanor but manage to put on a somewhat convincing posture of security.

They travelled down a long hallway to an exit. Royal guards in front and behind them. From the palace to the council chamber building it was about a three minute walk through a garden with a wide path in the middle. "A nice garden you have here Elafared." Aenera said. The king tried to avoid eye contact, uncomfortable with Aenera's presence but prisoner to it for now. They then entered the building. "King Elafared and the crown princess of Vyyzantfyr. We have been expecting you. Please wait here until the council is ready to receive your presence." An elf staffer said as he directed them to sit in a lounge.

"Use your True Touch ability to check for dangers." Aenera whispered to Hekate.

----Yfirryn----

Jayce took off his shirt and tried to use the spell again. Kren then saw a seal light up on Jayce's back. It was simple yet effective for a seal. "There is a seal on your back preventing you from manifesting spells with your mana. I will attempt to dispell it." Kren said. He then held his hand over the seal using a dispell spell on it. It needed a good amount of mana making Kren break a sweat, however when Kren was done, the seal seemed to be gone. "Looks like it is gone now. How about you retry the spell." Kren said to Jayce.
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When it was time to move, Hekate quickly stowed away her weapon and followed Aenera out. She wasn't at all phased by Aenera's sudden aura of malice, she knows people like that too. Throughout this entire process since she was just being led by hand by Aenera, she was going in and out of her true sight ability. So far, no hidden threats. However, there was some suspicious movements near the council building but she couldn't confirm any threats from that. "So far, so good." She thought to herself.

Upon entering the building, she refrained from going into her true sight ability so that she could give a proper greeting when need be. When she was asked to use her ability, she would've chuckled to correct Aenera's 'True Touch' command. But right now, they were at work. Serious matters. Especially when there was suspicious movements nearby and there could be potential dangers lurking from any corner. Once she used her true sight ability, her hunch was confirmed. There were potential threats in the building. Hidden, but they were there. So far, it looked like they were setting up for an ambush. Crafty little fuckers. As for weapons, she can tell they were carrying small arms like pistols and daggers. Those were the more discreet ones at least, assumingly the ones who will start it all. There was a second batch, armed with more heavier weapons but still small enough to carry around without getting noticed.

Those guys carried swords, spears and submachine guns. Some even had throwable explosives and shotguns. She counted four lightly armed assassins and seven heavier armed ones. As far as magic seemed to go, they didn't seem to possess much of it. It looked like they're just going to be relying on their weapons for now, but the only magics she can definitely detect were types of stealth and concealment. Any other person wouldn't notice them. Hekate's true sight sees through them all. As for what they were? It was mostly elves and humans from Avastenir. She did not see any who were from Snezhnaya or other countries.

Once she was out of her true sight ability, she whispered to Aenera while keeping her poker facial expression. "We've got four assassins armed with small arms and seven more heavily armed ones. Magical particles around them are low, so they only know stealth and concealment and possibly some other body-enhancing magic." She shifted a bit to get more comfortable. "Armaments consist of pistols, SMGs, shotguns, knives, swords and grenades. They're setting up in the meeting room so they're going to lay low for a bit. I'm assuming they'll attack during our talks." She then had a more cold tone in her voice. "So with that in mind, we must be engaged to engage. You can do what they do. When they act, you can act." She said as she moved a hand under Aenera's robe and manifested a small rod of geo magically generated metal. "Throw it on the ground bellow you when things get heated. It'll make a transparent shield around you while I can handle the work." She then patted patted the area under Aenera's robe so the rod would cling under it and made it look like she was fixing it and straightening out her clothes. After that, she returned her hand on the briefcase that she was holding. She was also generating geo magic inside the briefcase as well simply by holding it. "The shield will block out anything even filter the air. You should be safe during the engagement."

While waiting, Hekate was watching the assassins' movements and placements so she can make plans about how she'd move to counter attack. From their movements, they seemed sloppy. Could just be hand picked ordinary soldiers from Avastenir's military. Wasn't as refined and precise as Snezhnayans but it definitely seemed they received some Snezhnayan training before hand. Whoever trained them better watch their backs, it was pretty taboo to give Snezhnayan training to non-Snezhnayans. In military standards, they would receive some form of punishment that wasn't light. But even then, they only seem to be moving by the book so they're not that good. Still, combatants are combatants. All that matters is just to neutralize them and get it dusted before it turns into a little warzone.
 
Jayce winces as the seal is dispelled. He clenches his fist and punches the floor with a small amount of mana in his fist, cracking the floor. Without looking up he holds up his hand and the orb of light appears. Tears fall from his eyes, "Memories flooded back, memories I forgot. My mom was teaching me a couple simple spells and I was able to learn them easily. One day she told me she thought I should slow down but wouldn't tell me why. I told her I didn't want to stop, I wanted to learn magic and help people like her. Then one day she told me she wanted to use a special spell on me for protection. Afterwards I passed out for a while and when I woke up I thought I couldn't use any magic and had even forgotten the two spells I had learned." Jayce stands up, "thank you Kren, I'm grateful for you helping me."
 
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"I guess it is a setup then. I can give you healing and enhance your abilities beforehand so that it should be even easier to dispatch the assassins. They probably intended to get rid of the king too and probably pin it on me if they succeeded. I can imagine them saying that the wizard killer killed the king and the soldiers of the nation defeated the assassin or so." Aenera said. The king then spoke up: "This day just keeps getting worse. First, I am to be loyal to a witch under threat of death and then there are assassins in the council building who might intend to kill me as collateral." He then glanced over to Aenera to see the eerie grin on her face again, sending a shiver down his spine. "I will let the part about you calling me a witch slide. However I will not let you be killed. You could be useful. Don't worry, I will let you live your life normally under the circumstance that you don't go against me and leave me alone when I don't have business with you." Aenera said.

The council staffer came through a door and stated: "The council is ready to receive the king of Avastenir and the crown princess of Vyyzantfyr. Please follow me." Aenera got up and was ready to follow the staffer through the door. She was cautious. Looking around, Aenera noticed something shining on the floor behind the reception desk. It was a crystal of sorts. She could detect that it was a component of an anti-magic barrier. Aenera picked up the red crystal. She showed it to Hekate. "Hadn't I noticed this, we could have been in trouble. This setup seems to be pretty sloppy. However the anti-magic on this is kind of low level. It would have probably been overwhelmed within 15 or 20 seconds, but that is a window of time we cannot risk." Aenera said. The red crystal then turned white in Aenera's hand and then crumbled to dust. "Can't stop magic with an incomplete barrier."

Aenera touched Hekate's shoulder to give a slight boost in ability. "Should hold long enough for the meeting. Be sure to use it well." She said to Hekate.

Soon they stood before the council. A total of 250 politicians meant to represent the nation. Aenera expected at least a quarter of them of being conspirators and up to have of them being corrupt politicians. Many of them already looking malicious and tainted. A number of co-conspirators who helped coup the king, such as the royal advisor, the royal mage and the kings own nephew, sat there alongside the council. Aenera could feel that the situation around the king was complicated and treacherous.

"We welcome the fourth t... I mean the crown princess of Vyyzantfyr in this chamber. Did the king intend you to negotiate in his stead or reinforce him in his efforts in taking power from the council?" The council speaker said. He noticed the king avoid eye contact and slump. "I guess he finally figured out where his place is. Normally, he is argumentative and self-confident." "The king didn't ask me for anything, I came to him first." Aenera said. The council speaker then said: "Tsk. Filth seeking help from filth." "What was that?" Aenera asked. The council speaker then said: "It was nothing. What is your intention to come here then?" "It is to make Vyyzantfyr it's own province and allocate funds to improve it's infrastructure." Aenera replied.

"That isn't going to happen. You wont achieve anything today. Actually you wont even leave this chamber alive." The council speaker said. Aenera felt it was probably time to use the barrier. "Elafared, stand close if you don't want to be harmed." Aenera said before she deployed the barrier magic from Hekate. Pretty soon after the barrier was up, bullets ricocheted off the barrier. Meanwhile one of the non-conspirators among the council shouted: "Speaker, what is the meaning of this?!" "You stand against us? Anyone who sides with the king gets the bullet!" The speaker said. Moment later the dissident was hit by bullets.

"Oh boy. They are turning on other council members now. Adriesta, it is your time to shine now. Once you have eliminated the targets, I will heal the man's wounds. Even if he died, healing magic can fix it if they aren't too long gone." Aenera said to Hekate.

----Yfirryn----

"It has been a pleasure to help you. Sometimes parents who use magic are afraid their children will be taken away if they learn too quickly or show a special talent for magic. It happens too often. I have tried stopping it, but usually it is the decision of higher ups. I am just a teacher at the academy and not a high wizard. If it were up to me, I'd try to nurture talent without tearing families apart. I cannot imagine any other reason why your mother would seal your magic." Kren said.

"Yay, now me and sis can teach you how to use magic. Anyways, I wonder if she is doing alright." Yfirryn said. Kren then replied: "I am less worried about her physical well being. If anything I'd be worried about her mental well being or that she is causing trouble. I seriously hope she isn't coercing everybody or acting like a slob when meeting with officials. Since she hasn't had any alcohol today, I think her being offensive or rude is more likely than her being hostile."
 
Aniihya said:
"I guess it is a setup then. I can give you healing and enhance your abilities beforehand so that it should be even easier to dispatch the assassins. They probably intended to get rid of the king too and probably pin it on me if they succeeded. I can imagine them saying that the wizard killer killed the king and the soldiers of the nation defeated the assassin or so." Aenera said. The king then spoke up: "This day just keeps getting worse. First, I am to be loyal to a witch under threat of death and then there are assassins in the council building who might intend to kill me as collateral." He then glanced over to Aenera to see the eerie grin on her face again, sending a shiver down his spine. "I will let the part about you calling me a witch slide. However I will not let you be killed. You could be useful. Don't worry, I will let you live your life normally under the circumstance that you don't go against me and leave me alone when I don't have business with you." Aenera said.

The council staffer came through a door and stated: "The council is ready to receive the king of Avastenir and the crown princess of Vyyzantfyr. Please follow me." Aenera got up and was ready to follow the staffer through the door. She was cautious. Looking around, Aenera noticed something shining on the floor behind the reception desk. It was a crystal of sorts. She could detect that it was a component of an anti-magic barrier. Aenera picked up the red crystal. She showed it to Hekate. "Hadn't I noticed this, we could have been in trouble. This setup seems to be pretty sloppy. However the anti-magic on this is kind of low level. It would have probably been overwhelmed within 15 or 20 seconds, but that is a window of time we cannot risk." Aenera said. The red crystal then turned white in Aenera's hand and then crumbled to dust. "Can't stop magic with an incomplete barrier."

Aenera touched Hekate's shoulder to give a slight boost in ability. "Should hold long enough for the meeting. Be sure to use it well." She said to Hekate.

Soon they stood before the council. A total of 250 politicians meant to represent the nation. Aenera expected at least a quarter of them of being conspirators and up to have of them being corrupt politicians. Many of them already looking malicious and tainted. A number of co-conspirators who helped coup the king, such as the royal advisor, the royal mage and the kings own nephew, sat there alongside the council. Aenera could feel that the situation around the king was complicated and treacherous.

"We welcome the fourth t... I mean the crown princess of Vyyzantfyr in this chamber. Did the king intend you to negotiate in his stead or reinforce him in his efforts in taking power from the council?" The council speaker said. He noticed the king avoid eye contact and slump. "I guess he finally figured out where his place is. Normally, he is argumentative and self-confident." "The king didn't ask me for anything, I came to him first." Aenera said. The council speaker then said: "Tsk. Filth seeking help from filth." "What was that?" Aenera asked. The council speaker then said: "It was nothing. What is your intention to come here then?" "It is to make Vyyzantfyr it's own province and allocate funds to improve it's infrastructure." Aenera replied.

"That isn't going to happen. You wont achieve anything today. Actually you wont even leave this chamber alive." The council speaker said. Aenera felt it was probably time to use the barrier. "Elafared, stand close if you don't want to be harmed." Aenera said before she deployed the barrier magic from Hekate. Pretty soon after the barrier was up, bullets ricocheted off the barrier. Meanwhile one of the non-conspirators among the council shouted: "Speaker, what is the meaning of this?!" "You stand against us? Anyone who sides with the king gets the bullet!" The speaker said. Moment later the dissident was hit by bullets.

"Oh boy. They are turning on other council members now. Adriesta, it is your time to shine now. Once you have eliminated the targets, I will heal the man's wounds. Even if he died, healing magic can fix it if they aren't too long gone." Aenera said to Hekate.

----Yfirryn----

"It has been a pleasure to help you. Sometimes parents who use magic are afraid their children will be taken away if they learn too quickly or show a special talent for magic. It happens too often. I have tried stopping it, but usually it is the decision of higher ups. I am just a teacher at the academy and not a high wizard. If it were up to me, I'd try to nurture talent without tearing families apart. I cannot imagine any other reason why your mother would seal your magic." Kren said.

"Yay, now me and sis can teach you how to use magic. Anyways, I wonder if she is doing alright." Yfirryn said. Kren then replied: "I am less worried about her physical well being. If anything I'd be worried about her mental well being or that she is causing trouble. I seriously hope she isn't coercing everybody or acting like a slob when meeting with officials. Since she hasn't had any alcohol today, I think her being offensive or rude is more likely than her being hostile."
Click to expand...
When the bullets ricocheted, she began seeing the assassins reveal themselves too. She soon heard Aenera pretty much give her the order which she didn't really need. But she granted permission to kill even the speaker and any of the conspirators, whoever they may be. She dropped her briefcase from her side and the moment it made impact with the ground, it exploded into a cloud of white smoke concealing Aenera, the king and Hekate. During this time, Hekate used her time manipulating abilities to change her clothes form her suit to her uniform. She also put on her face mask, removed the eye contacts and used water magic to cleanse the dye from her hair. After fixing up her appearance and gearing up, it was go time.

Soon, time resumed back to normal for her and she shot the speaker in his leg and knees so he wouldn't run. She then ran out of the smoke to start eliminating the assassins. She was only using one revolver at the moment while also making use of a sword that she got when killing the first assassin that was closing in on the group. She displayed great agility and precision when maneuvering and shooting the assassins. Soon, she changed her weapons from a revolver to one of the assassins' SMG and used it on his fellow comrades. One of the assassins threw a grenade that exploded right bellow Hekate and created a fiery ashy smoke. He celebrated a bit at first and got closer to finish her off if needed. A mistake. Hekate then burst from the smoke with an assault rifle and a knife, plunging the knife into the assassin's neck and ripping it out to the front making blood splatter and continued her rampage. During times, she even used some of the assassins' as meat shields or even throwables to get even closer to other assassins and make opportunities to kill them. She may have been going overboard with her methods to eliminate any threats, but she wanted to instill terror into the conspirators and any remaining assassins. She made this meeting room her warzone of merciless brutality. Even when reinforcements from the assassins came, at least fifty, and even if the conspirators took up arms thinking they would have a lucky shot at Hekate or anyone else, Hekate cut them down like their lives meant absolutely nothing.

When Hekate ran out of ammo in one weapon, she'd pick up another. She used her enemies own weapons against them. She didn't use a lot of magic, only anemo and electro magics to move at high speeds and dart between targets. She was also abusing her Quick Time abilities to slow down her perception of time so as to dodge any incoming shots. For insurance, she even created a transparent geo shield around her as well, though it looked like an upgraded version than the one Aenera and the king are inside of since the one Hekate had, you can see geometrical shapes that make up the shield's barrier field and it looked like a faint orange glass was all it was made out of. She used true sight to shoot enemies who cowered behind cover that consisted of weak thin material like wood and other things.

When the dust settled and the carnage was over, the room smelled of gunpowder, blood and ash. The room was silent except for Hekate's breathing that sound it like it was going through a commu but more so like a megaphone. She soon picked up a pistol from the ground and began walking over to the speaker. As she walked, she spoke after so long during her rampage. For some chilling reason, she spoke very calmly and casually that the sound of her voice sounded soothing with a hidden blood lust beneath. "Adios." For the grand finale, she used one hand to hold the gun and another to pull the trigger with her index finger. If you ever see a kid brush their index fingers together perpendicularly as a means to shun others for saying a bad word in elementary school, she did it in the fashion too while unloading whatever was left inside the magazine of the pistol into the speaker's body until there was no more bullets left. Of course, she intended to kill the speaker.

She then tossed the pistol off to the side before walking back towards Aenera and the king, her expression only told by her eyes and that it seemed to be unaffected by the carnage that it created. "I had my fun. Your turn to play." She said to Aenera before taking a chair and taking a seat on it, keeping the mask on and her uniform. She did take off her shoal so she can cool off. She also crossed a leg over the other as she began reloading her revolvers, sticking bullets into the cylinder individually with her eyes closed. Though, even if another attack happened, she'd be ready. She was also using her true sight to detect any more enemies that were coming in with weapons. And if another attack happened, she could just use her Quick Time ability to act again as if she was ready from the start. Her clothes were pretty ripped as there were holes and threads that really seemed to be hanging on. They were also dirtied from all the blood, burns, gunpowder and ash from the fight. Her hair however, kept its form and color. Of course, there were some conspirators left alive because they thought it wise to not join the fight and just stayed in their seats terrified. The very sight of her was also making them cower in their seats and avoid eye contact with her. She definitely was expecting some money after this. Maybe not much since she didn't use a lot of her own gear, but her outfit did get pretty messed up. That was probably the only thing she ever uses her money for and also maintenance for her own two revolvers.

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"I guess I should be thankful she tried to protect me." Jayce sighs, "but... I dealt with so much. I always felt so weak and useless. I even couldn't find work fighting monsters and protecting people because I couldn't use magic." Jayce takes a breath, "well I guess in the end it's fine, I can use magic again. I can even be useful and help Aenera. I definitely look forward to learning spells." Jayce smiles with excitement. It still bothers him though, that his mom took away his ability to use magic. He can never know for sure so it's best to not dwell on it.
 
Aenera watched as Hekate changed in a flash and quickly dealt with the assassins. The sight was thrilling. Hekate was quick and avoided getting injured in the crossfire. Eventually the shooting stopped and the assassins had been dealt with. Hekate had even dealt with some of the conspirators including the council speaker. She then returned to Aenera's side and told her that it was her turn again.

Aenera clapped in applause and smiled. "That was wonderful. I will make sure to give you decent pay after this. I am sure Elafared will also throw in some too as appreciation for defending his life. A bodyguard like you is definitely a good choice." Aenera said. "Now I just need to get rid of the corrupt assholes who have been plagueing this nation for the past two decades." She gazed over to the men and women cowering in their seats. "But first, like I said, I need to heal the innocent guy who was shot by the assassins."

Aenera then went over to the body of the guy. He was dead but his death was only a short while ago, so he could be saved. She held her hand over his body and a white light glowed from her hand. The the bullets came out of his body and the wounds healed. He awoke with a gasp only to look up at Aenera and quickly crawl backwards. "What? What did you do to me?" The man said. Aenera smiled at him and said: "Welcome back to the world of the living. It seems some of your fellow councilmen turned against you and had you killed. Luckily, you werent dead for too long." Regaining some composure, the man stood up and said: "If that true, then you have my thanks. But it seems you killed the assassins." Then the councilman saw the speaker's corpse. "That is uncalled for, he could have stood trial for treason!" "My bodyguard was the one who took care of the assassins. And give the conspirators a trial? Don't you realize that the courts are stacked in their favor? The entire system is corrupt. If you get rid of the source of the corruption, the entire scheme will fall apart. Especially when people fear that someone will come for them for corruption." Aenera replied.

She went back to the front of the room. "All those corrupt politicians wont leave this room alive. I originally didn't even intend to get involved in national matters. All I wanted was to elevate my homeland's status within the nation. But by plotting against me, you have brought this upon yourselves. Don't worry though. I will make your deaths quick and painless." Aenera said. She then turned to Hekate. "Let me demonstrate aforementioned overuse of force when punching someone during a time stop." Just as she finished her sentence, time froze around her and she walked over to the first conspirator to killed. She pushed her fist up on his chin until his neck began to stretch. When time went back to normal, the conspirators head went flying. Some screams of horror, especially from the conspirators erupted. "That is one. 47 more to go." Aenera said. She took a pen and stabbed another in the head with it. "This is dealing with them quickly. Usually these parasites would deserve worse. But due to time constraints and because people say the way I killed the wizard was too brutal, I will stick to quick kills. But let's make an exception for one conspirator I especially hate, councilman Orelas." Aenera said.

A tall male elf stood up and tried to run for the door, only to be caught by Aenera and get one of his legs broken. "For ten years I have been waiting for this day. I got wind that you were the one who sent most of the assassins in my first two years in Quarrytown and I am guessing you played a role in the ambush today. I also heard you tried to bribe the judge to give me the death sentence. Well looks like that didn't work out." She said. Orelas then replied: "If it wasn't for Elafared that bastard. Hadn't he intervened, you would in the very least still be in prison. The great wizard was a great ally of mine and you happened to kill him!" "Do you want to meet him again? I got his corpse in a pocket dimension. I could maybe even undo his death, however he might only be a soulless husk or be without his memories. He could be a completely new person without the memories or personality of the great wizard." Aenera said. The elf man growled and shouted: "You evil witch! Just end what you intended to do!" Without hesitation, Aenera used gravity magic to crush him. The amount of magic used in that moment could send a shiver down the spines of magic sensitives within the vicinity of the government complex.

Aenera went up to Hekate: "Sorry you had to see that. However I believe the commotion may attract more enemies. Go out the door and try to hold off any enemies. However if you can, try to differentiate royal guards and council security from assassins. Make sure to only knock out royal guards and council security, they are only doing their job and dont know what they are in for today. That is, if you can notice any difference between guards and assassins. Assassins you can kill as you like. I will make it worth your while. I should be done in a couple minutes."

Aenera then continued to teleport around the room taking heads off of the conspirators she knew of, making sure to avoid harming innocents.


----Yfirryn----

"Well things should go better now. Why don't we check out some other attractions now?" Kren said. Yfirryn then shouted: "Let's go to the museum of technology!!! I would love to learn how things like autos and commus work!" "Then let's head to th-" Kren said before he froze. He felt a massive release of magic. Yfirryn was able to feel it too. Then there was a tremor. "What was that? It felt like a tickle in my spine and pressure on my chest." Yfirryn pondered.

"No. No, no, no. It was just like that time." Kren said getting increasingly nervous and panicky. Yfirryn then asked Kren: "Kren? What is wrong? Please tell me what is the matter?"

Suddenly alarms went off and a voice said over a speaker: "Please exit the palace and the frozen army exhibit. Please evacuate the government quarter. Guards and soldiers will assist your evacuation."

"No! No! This can't be! This is really bad! Aenera, you said you wouldn't cause trouble! We need to evacuate now! We can still see the museum of technology since it isn't in the government quarter, but this is so bad right now!" Kren said in full panic mode. He led Yfirryn and Jayce to the elevator. Kren pulled out his commu and tried to call Aenera. She declined his call and wrote: "Can't talk right now. I am busy with negotiations."

"BUSY WITH NEGIOTATIONS?! Are you serious?!" Kren yelled after reading Aenera's text message. Yfirryn covered his ears and said: "Please don't yell. Why are you so angry?"
 
Aniihya said:
Aenera watched as Hekate changed in a flash and quickly dealt with the assassins. The sight was thrilling. Hekate was quick and avoided getting injured in the crossfire. Eventually the shooting stopped and the assassins had been dealt with. Hekate had even dealt with some of the conspirators including the council speaker. She then returned to Aenera's side and told her that it was her turn again.

Aenera clapped in applause and smiled. "That was wonderful. I will make sure to give you decent pay after this. I am sure Elafared will also throw in some too as appreciation for defending his life. A bodyguard like you is definitely a good choice." Aenera said. "Now I just need to get rid of the corrupt assholes who have been plagueing this nation for the past two decades." She gazed over to the men and women cowering in their seats. "But first, like I said, I need to heal the innocent guy who was shot by the assassins."

Aenera then went over to the body of the guy. He was dead but his death was only a short while ago, so he could be saved. She held her hand over his body and a white light glowed from her hand. The the bullets came out of his body and the wounds healed. He awoke with a gasp only to look up at Aenera and quickly crawl backwards. "What? What did you do to me?" The man said. Aenera smiled at him and said: "Welcome back to the world of the living. It seems some of your fellow councilmen turned against you and had you killed. Luckily, you werent dead for too long." Regaining some composure, the man stood up and said: "If that true, then you have my thanks. But it seems you killed the assassins." Then the councilman saw the speaker's corpse. "That is uncalled for, he could have stood trial for treason!" "My bodyguard was the one who took care of the assassins. And give the conspirators a trial? Don't you realize that the courts are stacked in their favor? The entire system is corrupt. If you get rid of the source of the corruption, the entire scheme will fall apart. Especially when people fear that someone will come for them for corruption." Aenera replied.

She went back to the front of the room. "All those corrupt politicians wont leave this room alive. I originally didn't even intend to get involved in national matters. All I wanted was to elevate my homeland's status within the nation. But by plotting against me, you have brought this upon yourselves. Don't worry though. I will make your deaths quick and painless." Aenera said. She then turned to Hekate. "Let me demonstrate aforementioned overuse of force when punching someone during a time stop." Just as she finished her sentence, time froze around her and she walked over to the first conspirator to killed. She pushed her fist up on his chin until his neck began to stretch. When time went back to normal, the conspirators head went flying. Some screams of horror, especially from the conspirators erupted. "That is one. 47 more to go." Aenera said. She took a pen and stabbed another in the head with it. "This is dealing with them quickly. Usually these parasites would deserve worse. But due to time constraints and because people say the way I killed the wizard was too brutal, I will stick to quick kills. But let's make an exception for one conspirator I especially hate, councilman Orelas." Aenera said.

A tall male elf stood up and tried to run for the door, only to be caught by Aenera and get one of his legs broken. "For ten years I have been waiting for this day. I got wind that you were the one who sent most of the assassins in my first two years in Quarrytown and I am guessing you played a role in the ambush today. I also heard you tried to bribe the judge to give me the death sentence. Well looks like that didn't work out." She said. Orelas then replied: "If it wasn't for Elafared that bastard. Hadn't he intervened, you would in the very least still be in prison. The great wizard was a great ally of mine and you happened to kill him!" "Do you want to meet him again? I got his corpse in a pocket dimension. I could maybe even undo his death, however he might only be a soulless husk or be without his memories. He could be a completely new person without the memories or personality of the great wizard." Aenera said. The elf man growled and shouted: "You evil witch! Just end what you intended to do!" Without hesitation, Aenera used gravity magic to crush him. The amount of magic used in that moment could send a shiver down the spines of magic sensitives within the vicinity of the government complex.

Aenera went up to Hekate: "Sorry you had to see that. However I believe the commotion may attract more enemies. Go out the door and try to hold off any enemies. However if you can, try to differentiate royal guards and council security from assassins. Make sure to only knock out royal guards and council security, they are only doing their job and dont know what they are in for today. That is, if you can notice any difference between guards and assassins. Assassins you can kill as you like. I will make it worth your while. I should be done in a couple minutes."

Aenera then continued to teleport around the room taking heads off of the conspirators she knew of, making sure to avoid harming innocents.


----Yfirryn----

"Well things should go better now. Why don't we check out some other attractions now?" Kren said. Yfirryn then shouted: "Let's go to the museum of technology!!! I would love to learn how things like autos and commus work!" "Then let's head to th-" Kren said before he froze. He felt a massive release of magic. Yfirryn was able to feel it too. Then there was a tremor. "What was that? It felt like a tickle in my spine and pressure on my chest." Yfirryn pondered.

"No. No, no, no. It was just like that time." Kren said getting increasingly nervous and panicky. Yfirryn then asked Kren: "Kren? What is wrong? Please tell me what is the matter?"

Suddenly alarms went off and a voice said over a speaker: "Please exit the palace and the frozen army exhibit. Please evacuate the government quarter. Guards and soldiers will assist your evacuation."

"No! No! This can't be! This is really bad! Aenera, you said you wouldn't cause trouble! We need to evacuate now! We can still see the museum of technology since it isn't in the government quarter, but this is so bad right now!" Kren said in full panic mode. He led Yfirryn and Jayce to the elevator. Kren pulled out his commu and tried to call Aenera. She declined his call and wrote: "Can't talk right now. I am busy with negotiations."

"BUSY WITH NEGIOTATIONS?! Are you serious?!" Kren yelled after reading Aenera's text message. Yfirryn covered his ears and said: "Please don't yell. Why are you so angry?"
Click to expand...
She didn't mind Aenera's brutality. Surprised, sure but she wasn't too uncomfortable. She's seen more gruesome deaths before. When Aenera gave her the order to stand guard at the door, she opened her eyes and nodded. Soon, she looked down to the ground beside her. All of a sudden, whatever ash and fragmentations including debris from the previous battle was gathering near Hekate. Soon, they formed into what looked like abnormal heavily armored golems that were of human-like scale. They also carried weapons which appeared to be some sort of semi-automatic rifle that looked like it could pack quite the punch. Because it did. If anything, it can be used to penetrate fairly thick armor and punch holes into brick walls. If met with very thick armor, it'd just leave a deep dent should it graze but definitely still punch through armor if the bullet was direct and still have the velocity to kill whoever behind the material.

Hekate was able to create four of these golems and she herself suited up in a more armored attire. She then added some modifications to her mask and added some light armor plating onto it as well. One of the council members saw her doing this and pointed a shaky finger at her. He wasn't one of the conspirators, but the elf definitely saw her somewhere before. "I know you.." He said. "The airport..! I remember the very armor and golems when you made your escape!" She looked at him and winked. "Then just do what you did last time and don't ask questions. Please stay in your seat, as you did before." Was all she simply said before making a gesture to the golems and they began moving towards the door. Of course, Hekate was in the middle, and the four other golems were on both sides of her and was more in front.

When Hekate reached the outside, she closed the damaged door behind her best she could before some guards encountered her and the golems. The golems did point their weapons at the guards while also raising their shields, two of them had more larger shields and stood in front of Hekate so as to protect her. "The king inside is safe. But no one can enter right now." She stated firmly that it actually made the royal guards obey, especially when her glare looked like it pierced through them just the same as the weapons the golems carried. The guards complied immediately as they felt the blood lust from Hekate's glare as well as the smell of the previous battle from the golems. She also made two additional golems to watch the inside of the room as well. Those two in particular were more heavily armored. So far, she didn't see anyone too over-kitted to be deemed as assassins, but she definitely made sure to stand guard and watch the guards who stood at bay. Even if they wanted to do something, they couldn't really do anything to the golems, nor to Hekate who already seemed very capable and dangerous.

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Jayce followed with a sigh, "I knew this was a bad idea, I had a feeling something would happen at the meeting. We're going to have to abandon our plans now, it'll be too dangerous." Jayce looked to Yffiryn, "your sister likely made a mess, but there's nothing we can do. you and I are too unfamiliar with this place and Kren is too high profile to risk being caught up in anything." Looking back to Kren, "we just need to get out of here and go anywhere we can be inconspicuous while we wait for word from her. As far as anyone knows we're just average tourists so there shouldn't be trouble, right." Outwardly appearing calm, Jayce is actually panicking on the inside. Of course his presence would have had little effect on the situation, whatever it may be but maybe he could have kept Aenera from doing anything drastic? Probably not as he gives it a second thought.
 
Aenera during her actions noticed the golems form. However soon, Aenera was finished killing the conspirators. She then quickly grabbed the corpses and heads and put them into piles. Out of breath, she said: "That's the last of them. It is too warm in this robe for this." She took off the robe, now just wearing the dark blue tunic, shorts, thigh high stockings held up by garter straps and her jewelry.

"So now on to business." She said sitting down in a chair, facing the assembly of remaining council members. "Business? You murdered a couple dozen council members!" A councilwoman said. Then another council member turned to the councilwoman: "She wasn't the aggressor. The conspirators were the ones who attacked first and even if they had been spared, what then? They would be pronounced innocent in a bribed court and be back here within a week." "Are you seriously suggesting that she is the good one here and that those killed deserved it? That woman is a monster! You all saw what she did to Orelas." The councilwoman said.

"Honored councilwoman. Orelas did arranged the great wizard to get a position he wasn't qualified for. He did bribe a judge in hopes of giving me a draconian sentence. And in all honesty, even if you still don't intend to cooperate, what do you think you can do against me? I am trying to be lenient toward those who wished me no ill will. I even know that ever since the incident, I have had fanatically loyal allies within the council as well as critics. Some of you may think that my intent is a coup, but I do not desire any political positions. I only have a couple demands and my hopes are that yu will be cooperative." Aenera said while crossing one leg over another.

"And those are?" A council member asked. Aenera then answered: "First of all, I want Vyyzantfyr and the northern Fiordanfell mountains to be it's own province with all the benefits and rights that come with it. The people of Vyyzantfyr are able to elect their own governor. Second, I want Vyyzantfyri royals to be recognized as national nobility and be able to attend functions for nobles. Third, the representative king gets some political power back, specifically he will be included in an advisor role to the council and a city council seat for the capital region will be reserved for reigning kings or their representatives. Fourth, stay out of my way as I don't take a special interest in politics and will defend myself if attacked. I would rather just enjoy life with my friends. Only contact me if it is of utmost urgency. Finally, I want you to tell what happened here like it did. I was attacked and those involved in the conspiracy to assassinate me and the king were killed in retribution. I might not be an angel, but I'd rather not be demonized either. Use my official name as named in reports ten years ago, not my alias. Aenera Manavyndir os Aenfyandes, crown princess of Vyyzantfyr. If a large number of councilmen continue to conspire against me, I will show you want a fourth tyrant is."

Some council members gulped nervously, others were content, especially those of the pro-Aenera faction. "On a side note. Those fanatically supportive of me such as the so-called group called "Acolytes of the Fourth Tyrant", if you dare to try to force me into a coup, I will make you regret it." Aenera warned. "Now deliberate and then tell me whether you accept my demands or not."

The council argued for some time, but ended up voting on the matter. In the end, they nearly unanimously accepted the demands, many out of fear of retaliation though. There were ten people who abstained and only three who rejected the demands. "Thank you for your time and cooperation. Have a nice day." Aenera said. Before she went to the door, she gave the council her signature smile and a wink. Outside of the chamber, Aenera noticed Hekate had multiple guards held up. "The king is inside and safe." Aenera said to the guards. She turned to Hekate: "Let's head out and gather the others later." Then Aenera opened up a portal and took Hekate with her through it. The portal closed behind them. They were in another dimension. There were grasslands and a cozy stone house in front of them. There were mountains in the distance and the sky had a purple hue. "You can rest up here before we go back home. The housekeeper might have made enough lunch for us too." Aenera said.

Up at the stone house, a woman who was slightly taller than Aenera and had brown hair and rainbow colored eyes, was hanging up clothes to dry. As they got closer, it was visible that the woman possibly could be related to Aenera. Maybe a cousin or an aunt. The woman was possibly around the age of the king, at least physically. "Aenera, it has been a long time since you last visited. What brings you here?" The woman said. Aenera then replied: "We just need to rest up. A lot has happened. I hope you have been well." Aenera turned to Hekate: "This is my teacher. Or at least the person who taught me Chronos magic. She goes by Faena, it means "rainbow" in our language." "Why dont you two go inside and have some stew?" Faena said.


----Yfirryn----

"Sis, could have not been at fault. She wouldn't do something that bad." Yfirryn said. Kren then snapped at Yfirryn: "Then you don't know your sister very well. She has killed people before and is unbelievably powerful. A normal person wouldn't kill so easily." Yfirryn's eyes wallowed up. Kren then said: "I'm sorry for the tone. It is just stressful."

Soon the elevator reached the ground floor. There was a commotion outside as many tourists tried to get to the evacuation busses. However in the way of Yfirryn, Kren and Jayce were a group of thuggish looking guys. They were probably opportunists taking advantage of the chaos. "Why looky here. A girl, an old man and a flyweight. Hand over yer valuables if you want to get to the busses." The thugs said.

"Great, now we have to fight our way to the busses. I am a little rusty in fighting, but I should do fine." Kren said as he formed fists. Yfirryn also seemed to be ready to fight: "I only fought drakes and did practice matches against others. I hope this goes well." A dark miasma formed around Yfirryns right foot as he readied himself.
 
Aniihya said:
Aenera during her actions noticed the golems form. However soon, Aenera was finished killing the conspirators. She then quickly grabbed the corpses and heads and put them into piles. Out of breath, she said: "That's the last of them. It is too warm in this robe for this." She took off the robe, now just wearing the dark blue tunic, shorts, thigh high stockings held up by garter straps and her jewelry.

"So now on to business." She said sitting down in a chair, facing the assembly of remaining council members. "Business? You murdered a couple dozen council members!" A councilwoman said. Then another council member turned to the councilwoman: "She wasn't the aggressor. The conspirators were the ones who attacked first and even if they had been spared, what then? They would be pronounced innocent in a bribed court and be back here within a week." "Are you seriously suggesting that she is the good one here and that those killed deserved it? That woman is a monster! You all saw what she did to Orelas." The councilwoman said.

"Honored councilwoman. Orelas did arranged the great wizard to get a position he wasn't qualified for. He did bribe a judge in hopes of giving me a draconian sentence. And in all honesty, even if you still don't intend to cooperate, what do you think you can do against me? I am trying to be lenient toward those who wished me no ill will. I even know that ever since the incident, I have had fanatically loyal allies within the council as well as critics. Some of you may think that my intent is a coup, but I do not desire any political positions. I only have a couple demands and my hopes are that yu will be cooperative." Aenera said while crossing one leg over another.

"And those are?" A council member asked. Aenera then answered: "First of all, I want Vyyzantfyr and the northern Fiordanfell mountains to be it's own province with all the benefits and rights that come with it. The people of Vyyzantfyr are able to elect their own governor. Second, I want Vyyzantfyri royals to be recognized as national nobility and be able to attend functions for nobles. Third, the representative king gets some political power back, specifically he will be included in an advisor role to the council and a city council seat for the capital region will be reserved for reigning kings or their representatives. Fourth, stay out of my way as I don't take a special interest in politics and will defend myself if attacked. I would rather just enjoy life with my friends. Only contact me if it is of utmost urgency. Finally, I want you to tell what happened here like it did. I was attacked and those involved in the conspiracy to assassinate me and the king were killed in retribution. I might not be an angel, but I'd rather not be demonized either. Use my official name as named in reports ten years ago, not my alias. Aenera Manavyndir os Aenfyandes, crown princess of Vyyzantfyr. If a large number of councilmen continue to conspire against me, I will show you want a fourth tyrant is."

Some council members gulped nervously, others were content, especially those of the pro-Aenera faction. "On a side note. Those fanatically supportive of me such as the so-called group called "Acolytes of the Fourth Tyrant", if you dare to try to force me into a coup, I will make you regret it." Aenera warned. "Now deliberate and then tell me whether you accept my demands or not."

The council argued for some time, but ended up voting on the matter. In the end, they nearly unanimously accepted the demands, many out of fear of retaliation though. There were ten people who abstained and only three who rejected the demands. "Thank you for your time and cooperation. Have a nice day." Aenera said. Before she went to the door, she gave the council her signature smile and a wink. Outside of the chamber, Aenera noticed Hekate had multiple guards held up. "The king is inside and safe." Aenera said to the guards. She turned to Hekate: "Let's head out and gather the others later." Then Aenera opened up a portal and took Hekate with her through it. The portal closed behind them. They were in another dimension. There were grasslands and a cozy stone house in front of them. There were mountains in the distance and the sky had a purple hue. "You can rest up here before we go back home. The housekeeper might have made enough lunch for us too." Aenera said.

Up at the stone house, a woman who was slightly taller than Aenera and had brown hair and rainbow colored eyes, was hanging up clothes to dry. As they got closer, it was visible that the woman possibly could be related to Aenera. Maybe a cousin or an aunt. The woman was possibly around the age of the king, at least physically. "Aenera, it has been a long time since you last visited. What brings you here?" The woman said. Aenera then replied: "We just need to rest up. A lot has happened. I hope you have been well." Aenera turned to Hekate: "This is my teacher. Or at least the person who taught me Chronos magic. She goes by Faena, it means "rainbow" in our language." "Why dont you two go inside and have some stew?" Faena said.


----Yfirryn----

"Sis, could have not been at fault. She wouldn't do something that bad." Yfirryn said. Kren then snapped at Yfirryn: "Then you don't know your sister very well. She has killed people before and is unbelievably powerful. A normal person wouldn't kill so easily." Yfirryn's eyes wallowed up. Kren then said: "I'm sorry for the tone. It is just stressful."

Soon the elevator reached the ground floor. There was a commotion outside as many tourists tried to get to the evacuation busses. However in the way of Yfirryn, Kren and Jayce were a group of thuggish looking guys. They were probably opportunists taking advantage of the chaos. "Why looky here. A girl, an old man and a flyweight. Hand over yer valuables if you want to get to the busses." The thugs said.

"Great, now we have to fight our way to the busses. I am a little rusty in fighting, but I should do fine." Kren said as he formed fists. Yfirryn also seemed to be ready to fight: "I only fought drakes and did practice matches against others. I hope this goes well." A dark miasma formed around Yfirryns right foot as he readied himself.
Click to expand...
When Hekate was pulled through the portal, her golems crumbled back into rubble and the weapons they held were destroyed and the armor they were built with rendered unusable to anyone who wished to salvage their remains. All they'll find is just piles of rock. and metal. Once Hekate came to, she looked at their current surroundings in her cold and hardened facial expression she held towards the guards kept at bay immediately softened to her usual neutral state. Then Aenera mentioned a housekeeper and it was enough to pique Hekate's curiosity. "Housekeeper?" She said as she had turned her head in Aenera's direction. Upon further examination of their surroundings, she did notice a stone house right in front of them. She also noticed a woman hanging clothes there. She seemed to have some sort of mother figure as if it was Aenera's mom. However, it wasn't. Just Aenera's teacher and her name was Faena, but she still seemed to act like a mom though. She blinked as she was still armored up to the teeth. She soon stowed away her weapons and took off her metallic mask and wore it around her neck like a necklace.

When offered to go inside and have some stew, she blinked a little as she was surprised a bit. Noticing how Aenera wasn't really saying anything though, she quickly nodded and replied in a way like how a pair of friends from school go to one's house and meet their parents and the guest friend had to watch their mannerisms. "Oh. Yes, thank you." She said not having any time to properly introduce herself yet. She just walked inside and assumed Aenera would follow. While her outfit retained its armor plating, she could still sit comfortably without the plates hitting anything and making a loud sound. She found a chair at the table and looked towards Aenera and decided to speak as well. "What is this place though? It doesn't seem like our world anymore." She asked. She didn't eat yet and wanted to wait for Aenera to seat herself and also answer her question. Plus, she was definitely under someone else's roof and was given food that she never paid for. Nor quality of such hospitality was something she never had experienced since her highschool days when her parents were alive. It almost made her feel... Young. Though, as nice as it is, she must remember who she is now and that she can no longer go back to those days of ignorant innocence. She can no longer be an achieving student like she was before and that she's now a killer for the highest bidder who trades blood for money.

Speaking of such nostalgic feelings, the atmosphere seemed very peaceful. It really felt like a home on the countryside where family was everything. A simple life too. It almost made her consider her future. Thinking back during the negotiations when the king asked for Aenera's hand in a sort of political or nonpolitical marriage, she wondered if she'd ever want to get married and have a family like everyone else. And then, how will they live? How would she live the rest of her days until she grew old and died? Was she going to continue to kill for whoever paid her or will she eventually stop all of it and find an actual job or stay as a housewife? Could she really return to days of normalcy and live peacefully with her background or will it all eventually come back to haunt her and bring ruin? Thinking of the future like this... Is quite depressing for her sometimes. Especially in this dimension, she knows that it's just out of Aenera's consideration to lay low until returning to the others and Faena's goodwill and caring attitude. But this just all seemed to tease her, mock her right in front of her face. As if she was locked away in a prison cell and that she could see her friends waving and laughing with smiles on their faces living peacefully. She could almost cry, but her body won't let her for some reason. Her current stressful worries was being washed away by new ones in its place. Soon though, she eventually just stopped thinking about it entirely and focused on the present and awaited Aenera's reply.
 
in response to Yffiryn Jayce says, "I won't say she's a bad person but you don't know her as well as you might think."

Jayce smirks and takes a somewhat strange stance. He raises his fists as in a boxing stance but his feet are quite wide apart and planted, "you know, yo picked a good time to show up. I'm annoyed and could use some exercise." ho looks over to Kren, "I can probably handle them on my own but with Yffiryn, they don't stand a chance I'm sure." Jayce charges mana into both fists and charges the one who spoke. Throwing a feint with his left hand he discharges the mana early to catch the guy off guard and to throw him off balance then follows with a straight Right punch into his chest. The mana released from the punch was controlled as to not cause severe injury but causing him to fly backwards and feel as though he had been hit by a punch at least two to three times stronger. That single punch won't be enough, Jayce knew this. fists ready and stance set He says, "well? don't keep me waiting."
 
Hekate seemed to wonder about the place they were in. "This is Faena's personal dimension. She calls it her prison. I have told her it is okay to leave it, but she doesn't seem to want to. I dont know if she created it or if she was born in a land in this dimension and came to our dimension sometime. Faena is even a mystery to me sometimes. Her rainbow eyes are something though. I wish my eyes were that nice." Aenera said.

Faena came into the house. "You rarely visit. Since you seem to be tired and have brought a friend, I am guessing something happened?" Faena said. Aenera nodded and said: "Things got complicated and I had to kill a couple dozen politicians. My friend here took care of the assassins the politicians hired." Faena ran her hand down Aenera's cheek and said: "So did you take over the nation?" "No. I negotiated better rights for Vyyzantfyr with the councilmembers who weren't conspirators."

Faena played with her hair. "Why didn't you just take power? The rulers of the empire are all just corrupt and don't care about the people. You could just rule them." Faena said. Aenera replied: "I have told you before, the empire hasn't existed for three hundred years. It is a kingdom or morelike a republic now. I thought the king had the hots for me though. He however proposed to me. His reasons were for power. I dont want power." "Why not? You could make the world a better place. You could kill all those who are unpure. I would if I could, but it is complicated." Faena said. Aenera shook her head: "I don't visit often because you try to convince me to do things that would make me the fourth tyrant. I want an easy going life without big responsibiities."

Aenera turned her attention back to Hekate: "After cleaning up and eating, we should leave." "You have always been fascinated with these eyes havent you? I can show you how to acquire them." Faena said. Aenera replied: "If it involves killing hordes of innocents or selling my soul to some demon, I am not interested." "You always expect such bad things of me." Faena said. Aenera then replied: "Because you did bad things and try to convince me to do bad things. You are ultimately a villain who retired early. If you didn't say these things, I would like you a lot. But sometimes you are just unhinged."

Faena waved her hand over her face, becoming noticeably physically younger to a point that she looked similar to Aenera. "Just stay a little longer. I can show you how to make yourself younger. Maybe your friend is interested in learning chronos magic." Faena said. Aenera only came to this place because she didn't know where else to take refuge before going to collect the others.

"Young lady, would you be interested in chronos magic?" Faena said getting very close to Hekate. Aenera then told Faena: "Leave her alone. She doesn't need another bad influence in her life. However how do you get rainbow eyes? I might need to change my appearance for a bit and a change in eye color could assist else than changing hair color." "Awesome. All you have to do is learn how to travel back in time. I can show you after we eat." Faena said.

Faena set bowls of lentil soup with potatoes and carrots on the table with silverware. "Dig in. There is plenty for everybody." Faena said.


----Yfirryn----

After being slugged and flying back, the main thug got back up. "You bastard!" He said as he lunged for another punch. The other seven thugs joined in on the fight. Yfirryn seemed to be suprisingly experienced and agile in hand to hand combat, easily keeping up with one of the thugs while dodging the attacks of another. Kren however took a few punches already while landing hits of his own. "Dont worry. I can take a beating. I got involved in plenty of bar brawls back in the day, many of which instigated by Aenera." Kren said. He took punches but was mostly unfazed by the punches of the thugs. Kren picked one of the thugs up and slammed him onto the ground like some wrestling move. Yfirryn was landing mostly light attack but was pretty fast, wearing out the thugs.
 
Aniihya said:
Hekate seemed to wonder about the place they were in. "This is Faena's personal dimension. She calls it her prison. I have told her it is okay to leave it, but she doesn't seem to want to. I dont know if she created it or if she was born in a land in this dimension and came to our dimension sometime. Faena is even a mystery to me sometimes. Her rainbow eyes are something though. I wish my eyes were that nice." Aenera said.

Faena came into the house. "You rarely visit. Since you seem to be tired and have brought a friend, I am guessing something happened?" Faena said. Aenera nodded and said: "Things got complicated and I had to kill a couple dozen politicians. My friend here took care of the assassins the politicians hired." Faena ran her hand down Aenera's cheek and said: "So did you take over the nation?" "No. I negotiated better rights for Vyyzantfyr with the councilmembers who weren't conspirators."

Faena played with her hair. "Why didn't you just take power? The rulers of the empire are all just corrupt and don't care about the people. You could just rule them." Faena said. Aenera replied: "I have told you before, the empire hasn't existed for three hundred years. It is a kingdom or morelike a republic now. I thought the king had the hots for me though. He however proposed to me. His reasons were for power. I dont want power." "Why not? You could make the world a better place. You could kill all those who are unpure. I would if I could, but it is complicated." Faena said. Aenera shook her head: "I don't visit often because you try to convince me to do things that would make me the fourth tyrant. I want an easy going life without big responsibiities."

Aenera turned her attention back to Hekate: "After cleaning up and eating, we should leave." "You have always been fascinated with these eyes havent you? I can show you how to acquire them." Faena said. Aenera replied: "If it involves killing hordes of innocents or selling my soul to some demon, I am not interested." "You always expect such bad things of me." Faena said. Aenera then replied: "Because you did bad things and try to convince me to do bad things. You are ultimately a villain who retired early. If you didn't say these things, I would like you a lot. But sometimes you are just unhinged."

Faena waved her hand over her face, becoming noticeably physically younger to a point that she looked similar to Aenera. "Just stay a little longer. I can show you how to make yourself younger. Maybe your friend is interested in learning chronos magic." Faena said. Aenera only came to this place because she didn't know where else to take refuge before going to collect the others.

"Young lady, would you be interested in chronos magic?" Faena said getting very close to Hekate. Aenera then told Faena: "Leave her alone. She doesn't need another bad influence in her life. However how do you get rainbow eyes? I might need to change my appearance for a bit and a change in eye color could assist else than changing hair color." "Awesome. All you have to do is learn how to travel back in time. I can show you after we eat." Faena said.

Faena set bowls of lentil soup with potatoes and carrots on the table with silverware. "Dig in. There is plenty for everybody." Faena said.


----Yfirryn----

After being slugged and flying back, the main thug got back up. "You bastard!" He said as he lunged for another punch. The other seven thugs joined in on the fight. Yfirryn seemed to be suprisingly experienced and agile in hand to hand combat, easily keeping up with one of the thugs while dodging the attacks of another. Kren however took a few punches already while landing hits of his own. "Dont worry. I can take a beating. I got involved in plenty of bar brawls back in the day, many of which instigated by Aenera." Kren said. He took punches but was mostly unfazed by the punches of the thugs. Kren picked one of the thugs up and slammed him onto the ground like some wrestling move. Yfirryn was landing mostly light attack but was pretty fast, wearing out the thugs.
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When Faena got too close for comfort around Hekate, she somewhat inched away to keep a slight distance. She knows that she wouldn't be able to fight her as of now because her main tactic for killing people who are superior to her in power was long distances or stealth. Perhaps even a little coercing. But it doesn't seem like if Faena were to attack her right now she'd be able to defend herself. The feeling of the motherly aura around Faena disappeared for her. She politely shook her head and replied. "Thank you for the offer, but perhaps another time. If anything, I just need to train myself to have more stamina to use my current abilities and a bit of practice." She said. She then looked down a bit and mumbled a little. "Though... I do feel like the power is right there... I just can't tap into it." Hekate for a long time had such abilities but for some reason she felt like something was gatekeeping her from achieving her full potential. This sort of feeling was something she started noticing during her rampage in the council building and she was only able to point it out now being exposed to magic that was far superior to her own.

When she heard Faena tell Aenera how she got her eyes, she blinked and looked sharply to Faena with great but cautious interest. There's magic to turn back time? If she got her hands on that power, maybe she could have brought her parents back. She could even warn them! With magic like that, she can fix her life and return to a normal and innocent---!

Before she knew it a tear trickled down her cheek. She was crying...? She shed a tear? She blinked back to the present of reality and wiped her tears away hastily almost as if she was nearly disgusted by the fact she shed a tear and had to do away with it. Even if she were to learn magic that allowed her to time travel, she couldn't imagine how long that would actually take her to learn it and master it. And what of it then? By then, she'd probably be too old or even around her parents' age when she goes back to save them and it wouldn't matter. There's also a theory some teachers at her high school discuss about if there was a time traveling magic that it wouldn't work flawlessly. Especially with a law that Newton had started. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Full of consequences. You couldn't just change the past without the past coming back to haunt you and something ends up fucking up. The hope of seeing her parents one last time was lingering but it had to be put away. She soon just focused on the bowls of soup. She nodded towards Faena and put her hands together and spoke. "Thank you for the food." She said before she began to eat.
 
"I better pick up the pace then, huh?" Jayce was taking quite a few hits but dishing out just as many, it was partially thanks to this stance he pieced together. He made it to deliver heavy hits while able to defend against incoming attacks, the drawback is that it lowers his mobility. Jayce narrows his stance to shoulder width but keeps his feet planted when attacking, this makes for a more balanced stance in which his mobility is better and only loses a small amount of the benefit from the full version. Jayce decides he should aim to incapacitate at least two of them to make the fight a little bit easier. Charging large amount of mana into his hands faces two men charging him, ducking below the attack from the first he delivers a powerful blow to the mans upper leg causing it to fracture. Jayce winces from a slight pain of recoil in his hand as he avoids the second man and delivers a right hook into his shoulder, resulting in a similar cracking sound as the first man's leg. it shouldn't result in permanent damage but it'll hurt enough to prevent them from fighting. Jayce is fully aware he has to be careful not to hurt himself with his own attacks but he can't afford to hold back too much since they are still outnumbered, "don't over do it guys!"
 
Aenera and Hekate ate the food. "I hope it tastes well. I put a lot of love into it." Faena said. Aenera then said: "It reminds me a lot of my mom's recipe." "Who do you think your mother has it from?" Faena said and smiled. "I knew your mother, your grandmother and even her grandmother. If you have mastered chronos magic, you can always turn back time even stop aging. Speaking of which I have a present for you." Faena said. She held her hand towards Aenera. Aenera hair became denser and something became slightly different about her face. Faena had de-aged Aenera by nearly ten years. Aenera looked like she had when she was 22. "I can also turn back your friend's age by a couple years if she likes. The trick is to only turn back time for the body, not the soul. If you turn back everything, the soul will basically forget the time of when it was older." Faena said. Aenera then replied: "Wow, I actually feel younger. Same height, but I seem to have become younger."

"Now that you have finished eating and have been de-aged, how about I get you those rainbow eyes. It shouldn't take long. For your friend we will be done in blink of an eye. For you, well you just need to feel it and you will then know how to do it." Faena said before taking Aenera's arm. They both disappeared from Hekate's view in a flash. Aenera found herself with Faena on a field with mountains in the distance. It felt like they were at the same place in a different point of time. There was no house and no path. While they were travelling through time, Aenera could feel what Faena meant. Aenera could understand what to do to travel back in time. She couldn't put it in words, but she originally thought it to be impossible because she expected only a monster in magical capacity would be able to do it. Yet Faena could do it efficiently without using too much power. "Were are we? And when are we?" Aenera asked. Faena answered: "At the same spot, just over 1500 years ago." "Over 1500 YEARS AGO?!" Aenera shouted in surprise. Faena answered: "Yes. It takes time travel this far and a return to the present for rainbow eyes. You might feel sick when we return, maybe feel some pain." With such little warning, Faena took Aenera back to the present.

Back in front of Hekate, Aenera's eyes hadn't changed color yet. Aenera however suddenly became very nauseous, throwing up on the floor. Her arms and eyes started to ache. The pain became agonizing as Aenera began to scream: "AAAAAH! You said it would only make me feel sick and only hurt a little!" "That is only a little pain. It will stop soon." Faena said. After nearly passing out from pain, the pain subsided. Laying on the floor, Aenera opened her eyes, they were rainbow colored. Additionally it felt like she gained additional sight ability, almost as if she could see flows of mana faintly. "What are these streams?" Aenera asked. Faena answered: "They are terrestrial mana flows. Not only do all living things have mana, but even the soil and the rocks." Faena turned to Hekate and said: "I can help you tap into your full potential. If time is your concern, we can train in space where time flows slower than elsewhere. Otherwise Aenera could become your teacher." "I wouldn't mind teaching friends honestly. I have a lot of free time now." Aenera said. Considering Hekate, Aenera remembered the payment she owed to Hekate. She reached in a pocket and pulled out a couple gold coins. "This should cover your services." Aenera said.

"Faena. Do you have hair dye? I need to change my hair color to hide my identity better." Aenera said. Faena replied: "Nope. Why don't you check your pocket dimension? It always seems to be like a walk in closet." Aenera sighed and opened her pocket dimension. She climbed into the portal and soon came back out with a suitcase. She opened it up. There were a number of bottles of hair dye. "I feel like just dying my hair a rainbow color to match the eyes. Rainbow hair still doesn't show the original hair color. However maybe I should dye my eyebrows too. I will make them just white for now. I also have a long white robe so I can disguise myself as a cleric or mage from some far off land until we can exit the capital." Aenera said. She went over to a tub to dye her hair.

After a while, her hair was rainbow colored with a gradient. After it dried, she changed from the dark blue tunic and shorts to a black sleeveless turtleneck, black bridal gauntlet type gloves and black shorts with boots and put a pure white hooded robe over it. Faena helped braid her very long hair. Even braided, Aenera's hair still went down to her thighs. "The hood should conceal my forehead and the crystal, otherwise I still have a cloth to cover my face entirely if needed." Aenera said. She then asked Hekate: "What do you think? It might catch some attention, but it should be able to work when concealing my identity."


----Yfirryn----

Kren threw a thug into a pile of waste bins. Meanwhile Yfirryn managed to crack bones and land a painful groin kick. Eventually, the thugs gave up and ran off. "These bastards are too strong. They looked weak though. Some day we will get our revenge!" One of the thugs said as he limped away. "What a bunch of wusses. They start a fight and then end up running away. We should get to a bus for evacuation." Kren says. "Good fighting you two. You did better than me, especially Jayce. But I managed to hold my ground at least."
 
Aniihya said:
Aenera and Hekate ate the food. "I hope it tastes well. I put a lot of love into it." Faena said. Aenera then said: "It reminds me a lot of my mom's recipe." "Who do you think your mother has it from?" Faena said and smiled. "I knew your mother, your grandmother and even her grandmother. If you have mastered chronos magic, you can always turn back time even stop aging. Speaking of which I have a present for you." Faena said. She held her hand towards Aenera. Aenera hair became denser and something became slightly different about her face. Faena had de-aged Aenera by nearly ten years. Aenera looked like she had when she was 22. "I can also turn back your friend's age by a couple years if she likes. The trick is to only turn back time for the body, not the soul. If you turn back everything, the soul will basically forget the time of when it was older." Faena said. Aenera then replied: "Wow, I actually feel younger. Same height, but I seem to have become younger."

"Now that you have finished eating and have been de-aged, how about I get you those rainbow eyes. It shouldn't take long. For your friend we will be done in blink of an eye. For you, well you just need to feel it and you will then know how to do it." Faena said before taking Aenera's arm. They both disappeared from Hekate's view in a flash. Aenera found herself with Faena on a field with mountains in the distance. It felt like they were at the same place in a different point of time. There was no house and no path. While they were travelling through time, Aenera could feel what Faena meant. Aenera could understand what to do to travel back in time. She couldn't put it in words, but she originally thought it to be impossible because she expected only a monster in magical capacity would be able to do it. Yet Faena could do it efficiently without using too much power. "Were are we? And when are we?" Aenera asked. Faena answered: "At the same spot, just over 1500 years ago." "Over 1500 YEARS AGO?!" Aenera shouted in surprise. Faena answered: "Yes. It takes time travel this far and a return to the present for rainbow eyes. You might feel sick when we return, maybe feel some pain." With such little warning, Faena took Aenera back to the present.

Back in front of Hekate, Aenera's eyes hadn't changed color yet. Aenera however suddenly became very nauseous, throwing up on the floor. Her arms and eyes started to ache. The pain became agonizing as Aenera began to scream: "AAAAAH! You said it would only make me feel sick and only hurt a little!" "That is only a little pain. It will stop soon." Faena said. After nearly passing out from pain, the pain subsided. Laying on the floor, Aenera opened her eyes, they were rainbow colored. Additionally it felt like she gained additional sight ability, almost as if she could see flows of mana faintly. "What are these streams?" Aenera asked. Faena answered: "They are terrestrial mana flows. Not only do all living things have mana, but even the soil and the rocks." Faena turned to Hekate and said: "I can help you tap into your full potential. If time is your concern, we can train in space where time flows slower than elsewhere. Otherwise Aenera could become your teacher." "I wouldn't mind teaching friends honestly. I have a lot of free time now." Aenera said. Considering Hekate, Aenera remembered the payment she owed to Hekate. She reached in a pocket and pulled out a couple gold coins. "This should cover your services." Aenera said.

"Faena. Do you have hair dye? I need to change my hair color to hide my identity better." Aenera said. Faena replied: "Nope. Why don't you check your pocket dimension? It always seems to be like a walk in closet." Aenera sighed and opened her pocket dimension. She climbed into the portal and soon came back out with a suitcase. She opened it up. There were a number of bottles of hair dye. "I feel like just dying my hair a rainbow color to match the eyes. Rainbow hair still doesn't show the original hair color. However maybe I should dye my eyebrows too. I will make them just white for now. I also have a long white robe so I can disguise myself as a cleric or mage from some far off land until we can exit the capital." Aenera said. She went over to a tub to dye her hair.

After a while, her hair was rainbow colored with a gradient. After it dried, she changed from the dark blue tunic and shorts to a black sleeveless turtleneck, black bridal gauntlet type gloves and black shorts with boots and put a pure white hooded robe over it. Faena helped braid her very long hair. Even braided, Aenera's hair still went down to her thighs. "The hood should conceal my forehead and the crystal, otherwise I still have a cloth to cover my face entirely if needed." Aenera said. She then asked Hekate: "What do you think? It might catch some attention, but it should be able to work when concealing my identity."


----Yfirryn----

Kren threw a thug into a pile of waste bins. Meanwhile Yfirryn managed to crack bones and land a painful groin kick. Eventually, the thugs gave up and ran off. "These bastards are too strong. They looked weak though. Some day we will get our revenge!" One of the thugs said as he limped away. "What a bunch of wusses. They start a fight and then end up running away. We should get to a bus for evacuation." Kren says. "Good fighting you two. You did better than me, especially Jayce. But I managed to hold my ground at least."
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With everyone happening so fast, the mere sight of Faena and Aenera disappearing actually made her glitch out of reality for a second. She stopped whatever she was doing and looked around while processing what happened. She wasn't even finish processing when they came back and Aenera began throwing up the same soup she just ate. With Faena's offer to teach Hekate the magic, even if it takes time, she considered it. Though, with Aenera's new sight ability, if she saw Hekate's, she could see that Hekate was emitting a little over average mana flow to that of a typical student from an academy, but there was a fairly large and dense concentration that didn't seem to be moving at all at Hekate's core.

She refused the offer to have her appearance change since she could always just change her clothes. "I'll pass on it. I'll just get some different clothes is all." She said. She then turned to Faena and in a serious manner too. "My full potential...? I think that would be ---" She said before there was a thunderous crash from outside. If anyone sensed it, it landed nearly right outside the house and had already burst through the door and looked at them shouting. "Don't!! It isn't time yet!!" The voice was familiar, especially to Hekate. Aenera's heard it before. From the pub. It was that guy.

"Childe?!! What are you doing here?!" Hekate exclaimed as she stood up and pointed her gun at him in anger. Childe soon put up his hands as a way to try and calm the situation. "Whoa whoa easy. Look, drop the pet names for now, Hekate. We can't have you unlock your full power yet. Not now." He said frantically. Soon, Childe looked towards the others, Aenera and Faena. "Sorry for the intrusion. But this is a very important matter, just as important as your appointment with Elafared." He said before nodding. "Yeah. I know what went down. I was there."

Hekate soon lowered her weapon. If Aenera and Faena were also ready to attack, she waved them down to stand down. She still held her gun next to her, but seemed like she was ready to listen to what he had to say. "Okay then, Ajax. Tell me why then? Or else I'll use it to kill you." Ajax stood up firmly and sighed. He looked serious. Serious enough that it made Hekate recoil slightly. She had never seen him this serious. "Do you want to get killed by ultranationalists? Did you seriously think that fleeing from Snezhnaya would you take you off their radar if they found out where you were with your new found power? A power that is even greater than her majesty the Tsaritsa herself and your birthright?" Hekate raised an eyebrow. She was confused by what Ajax was telling her. "What... What are you talking about?" She asked. Ajax then looked dumbfounded and soon came to a conclusion. "Oh. You... They never told you?" He asked before continuing. "Hekate. You don't even know who you are truly, don't you?"

She answered him firmly. "What do you know, are you me?" "No. But the Fatui, myself and the rest of the Harbingers. Especially the Tsaritsa herself and your foster parents know who exactly you are. They didn't die because they possessed some stupid key for a business advantage. Kurosawa wasn't just a god damn CEO of some company. Those were all cover ups to keep you in the dark, but you just had to feel the need to wake up early, huh?" He said before taking a deep breath. "Your biological mother is still alive. Learn chronos magic if you wish, but that won't change who you are and will become." Hekate shook her head. "Stop fucking around with me! What are you saying?!"

Ajax took a brief pause before getting down on one knee. Hekate was taken aback by it since she knows what happens when a man takes a knee in front of a woman. Any average person knows what it means. When that happens, a man will present a ring in front of the woman and ask for her hand in marriage. This happens to couples who had been dating for quite awhile and trust enough and love each other enough to grow old together and die, to spend the rest of their lives together and having a family. This is what's called a proposal.

However, Tartaglia lowered his head and slouched over. His right hand over his heart and leaving his left hand at his side. This wasn't a proposal at all. It was entirely different. Hekate knew of it. She only saw it during Ajax's ceremonial promotion to a Harbinger in Snezhnaya. She remembered that day clearly. A grandiose throne room within a palace that had existed for a very long time and was very well maintained. But the interior was nothing of fancy. Instead, it was rather cold and blunt. The only eye catching things were the long red carpet and floral decorations that accompanied that aisle. There were other Harbingers present but as well as multiple guards, especially guards that seemed to be bodyguarding Hekate and her parents. She didn't know why, she just thought that it was because she was Ajax's girlfriend at the time. As Ajax walked down that aisle, up ahead was the Tsaritsa sitting on her throne. A seemingly caring and gentle soul was incased in a body that has known war and hardened itself with her firm cold gaze. Ajax did the same exact gesture towards her at the feet of her steps that lead to her throne. It was a gesture of respect towards the Tsaritsa and Harbingers. When Ajax raised his head to look up to the Tsaritsa was after she had bestowed him the title of Harbinger.

Hekate stood there in utter confusion but nearing a conclusion, while Ajax raised his head in the same manner and spoke firmly and a serious expression. "You are the rumored daughter of Snezhnaya, the next Tsaritsa. Tsarevna Adriesta."
 
Jayce scratches the back of his head with a chuckle, "I've been in a bunch of fights. honestly I'm more impressed you did so well Kren." he then thinks for a moment, "should we really be evacuating without them? I don't like going without them, or at least without hearing from them." jayce rubs his sore fists, maybe he went a bit far in the fight.
 
Aenera raised a brow when Childe burst in. His presence was a bit surprising but Aenera had the feeling that someone was still watching them. She however expected Faena not to be welcoming since it was just some random guy invading Faena's domain. "I was wondering when you'd reveal yourself. I already made you a cup of tea." Faena said to Childe, unfazed by his presence. Aenera expected Faena would have just straight up killed him once she had detected his presence, yet she was offering him tea.

When Childe mentioned some ultranationalists could seek out to kill her, Faena said: "With her full potential unlocked and a friend like Aenera, the two should be unstoppable. Plus even cloaking magic cant hide a mana flow, it just reveals it more." "Don't mind her. She doesn't know what Snezhnaya is since she has been in here since before Snezhnaya's founding." Aenera said. They continued to watch the scene unfold as Childe reveals that Hekate was to become the next Tsaritsa.

"Ooooh, nice. That means you are royalty then, just like me. Just watch out that that foolish king doesn't ask for your hand." Aenera said. Faena then smiled and said: "I guess that makes you a rival to my beloved Aenera then." Faena was getting ready to do something bad, but Aenera stopped her in her tracks: "No. She is an ally. I wont let you harm her. All you think about is your wishes, but I constantly tell you that I don't want power." "Fine then. I wont kill her then, but if she ever turns on you, that is on you to stop her. But you can't fight your destiny. One day, you will have to follow your ancestors footsteps and conquer the land. It is in your blood." Faena said. Aenera slapped Faena: "I swear Faena, you better knock it off. You may have more magical power but I can slap you black and blue." The slap left a red hand imprint on Faena's cheek.

Faena went to crouch in a corner to hold her cheek and cry. "I'm sooooorry." Faena cried. Aenera turned to Hekate: "Well then. Since you are a royal, I would like to offer a contract spell for an alliance. I will have your back and you will have mine. It is sort of like a blood sisterhood if you will." Aenera held out her hand to Hekate.

----Yfirryn----

"Thanks for the compliment." Kren replied. "We should evacuate without them. They should be able to fend for themselves until we meet back up. Plus, maybe on the bus the radio will tell us more about what happened at the council. I got Aenera's commu number just in case."

"I hope sis is fine." Yfirryn said while Kren hastled them toward the evacuation bus. Once on it, it was pretty full. There were tourists from all over on the bus. The bus then left for the downtown city ring.

A soldier at the front of the bus said over the PA system: "You will be evacuated to the downtown area. Once the danger has subsided and everything has been sorted out, you will be returned to the government district if your hotel or home is located there." After the soldier stopped talking, the bus driver turned up the sound of the onboard TVs.

"Breaking news. There was a firefight within the council chambers. It may have been a coup attempt. We will switch to our reporter within the building. Warning these pictures may be graphic." A female elven newscaster said. They then switched to the reporter within the building. Behind the reporter were soldiers picking up corpses within the council chamber. Blood was splattered all over the room. It was obvious that most of the corpses had been decapitated while others were shot. There was even a big red patch of gore within the middle of the floor. The human male reporter looked like he was nauseous.

"Evareus Soothand reporting live at the scene. Absolutely horrifying these pictures. It seems like dozens of council members had been massacred here." The reporter said. He managed to catch a council member walking by. "Excuse me, sir. Can you tell what happened today?" It was a council member who sat near the guy who got shot by an assassin for speaking out against the council speaker. The man was fidgety and nervous: "Ah, y-yes. We had an important appointment with the king and the crownprincess of Vyyzantfyr. One Aenera Manavyndir." "So did she massacre, the council members. She was known as the person who killed the great wizard ten years ago. It must have been her, right?" The reporter said.

"Oh boy. Looks like we might not be meeting up with them." Kren said to Jayce and Yfirryn.

The council member after a brief pause to think how to say it right then said: "The house speaker and most of the members of the All-National party, attempted to assassinate the king and the crown princess and coup the government. The crown princess of Vyyzantfyr and her bodyguard saved us and the king and killed the conspirators. Also before being crushed to death councilman Orelas admitted to corruption by giving the great wizard his position despite not being qualified for it and trying to bribe the judge who ruled over the case ten years ago. In all honesty, she may be sort of a monster, but her heart seems to be in the right place when it comes to justice."

Since the reporter wasn't happy with the story and wanted to seek a story that was more incriminating, he went to the councilman who was basically dead for a couple minutes before being healed by Aenera. "Sir, what is your take on the story? We know some council members have sympathies with the wizard killer, but you, a member who had condemned the actions of the wizard killer ten years ago, might have a different story." The reporter said. The council member then spoke up: "It sounds like you have already made up your mind who the perpetrator was. However she saved me from certain death after the council speaker ordered me to be shot after I spoke out against his conspiracy. It doesn't matter what she did ten years ago, but Aenera Manavyndir and her bodyguard are heroes."

The reporter then tried to interview the king, who still was jumpy. "Your highness..." The reporter said before being interrupted by the king: "It's like they said. No further comment. Now please stop looking for a smear story." The news then switched back to the in-studio newscaster. "Thanks Evareus Soothand. In other breaking news, Evareus Soothand will be relieved from his position as a reporter and will be back to being the weatherman. The network manager voiced his disappointment for Mr. Soothand's repeated bias in reporting and that it is dishonorable to engage in tabloid nonsense and that Mr. Soothand should be happy he still has a job."

"I seem to have misjudged Aenera." Kren said. "However, I didn't see her on the news. They only mentioned her."
 
Aniihya said:
Aenera raised a brow when Childe burst in. His presence was a bit surprising but Aenera had the feeling that someone was still watching them. She however expected Faena not to be welcoming since it was just some random guy invading Faena's domain. "I was wondering when you'd reveal yourself. I already made you a cup of tea." Faena said to Childe, unfazed by his presence. Aenera expected Faena would have just straight up killed him once she had detected his presence, yet she was offering him tea.

When Childe mentioned some ultranationalists could seek out to kill her, Faena said: "With her full potential unlocked and a friend like Aenera, the two should be unstoppable. Plus even cloaking magic cant hide a mana flow, it just reveals it more." "Don't mind her. She doesn't know what Snezhnaya is since she has been in here since before Snezhnaya's founding." Aenera said. They continued to watch the scene unfold as Childe reveals that Hekate was to become the next Tsaritsa.

"Ooooh, nice. That means you are royalty then, just like me. Just watch out that that foolish king doesn't ask for your hand." Aenera said. Faena then smiled and said: "I guess that makes you a rival to my beloved Aenera then." Faena was getting ready to do something bad, but Aenera stopped her in her tracks: "No. She is an ally. I wont let you harm her. All you think about is your wishes, but I constantly tell you that I don't want power." "Fine then. I wont kill her then, but if she ever turns on you, that is on you to stop her. But you can't fight your destiny. One day, you will have to follow your ancestors footsteps and conquer the land. It is in your blood." Faena said. Aenera slapped Faena: "I swear Faena, you better knock it off. You may have more magical power but I can slap you black and blue." The slap left a red hand imprint on Faena's cheek.

Faena went to crouch in a corner to hold her cheek and cry. "I'm sooooorry." Faena cried. Aenera turned to Hekate: "Well then. Since you are a royal, I would like to offer a contract spell for an alliance. I will have your back and you will have mine. It is sort of like a blood sisterhood if you will." Aenera held out her hand to Hekate.

----Yfirryn----

"Thanks for the compliment." Kren replied. "We should evacuate without them. They should be able to fend for themselves until we meet back up. Plus, maybe on the bus the radio will tell us more about what happened at the council. I got Aenera's commu number just in case."

"I hope sis is fine." Yfirryn said while Kren hastled them toward the evacuation bus. Once on it, it was pretty full. There were tourists from all over on the bus. The bus then left for the downtown city ring.

A soldier at the front of the bus said over the PA system: "You will be evacuated to the downtown area. Once the danger has subsided and everything has been sorted out, you will be returned to the government district if your hotel or home is located there." After the soldier stopped talking, the bus driver turned up the sound of the onboard TVs.

"Breaking news. There was a firefight within the council chambers. It may have been a coup attempt. We will switch to our reporter within the building. Warning these pictures may be graphic." A female elven newscaster said. They then switched to the reporter within the building. Behind the reporter were soldiers picking up corpses within the council chamber. Blood was splattered all over the room. It was obvious that most of the corpses had been decapitated while others were shot. There was even a big red patch of gore within the middle of the floor. The human male reporter looked like he was nauseous.

"Evareus Soothand reporting live at the scene. Absolutely horrifying these pictures. It seems like dozens of council members had been massacred here." The reporter said. He managed to catch a council member walking by. "Excuse me, sir. Can you tell what happened today?" It was a council member who sat near the guy who got shot by an assassin for speaking out against the council speaker. The man was fidgety and nervous: "Ah, y-yes. We had an important appointment with the king and the crownprincess of Vyyzantfyr. One Aenera Manavyndir." "So did she massacre, the council members. She was known as the person who killed the great wizard ten years ago. It must have been her, right?" The reporter said.

"Oh boy. Looks like we might not be meeting up with them." Kren said to Jayce and Yfirryn.

The council member after a brief pause to think how to say it right then said: "The house speaker and most of the members of the All-National party, attempted to assassinate the king and the crown princess and coup the government. The crown princess of Vyyzantfyr and her bodyguard saved us and the king and killed the conspirators. Also before being crushed to death councilman Orelas admitted to corruption by giving the great wizard his position despite not being qualified for it and trying to bribe the judge who ruled over the case ten years ago. In all honesty, she may be sort of a monster, but her heart seems to be in the right place when it comes to justice."

Since the reporter wasn't happy with the story and wanted to seek a story that was more incriminating, he went to the councilman who was basically dead for a couple minutes before being healed by Aenera. "Sir, what is your take on the story? We know some council members have sympathies with the wizard killer, but you, a member who had condemned the actions of the wizard killer ten years ago, might have a different story." The reporter said. The council member then spoke up: "It sounds like you have already made up your mind who the perpetrator was. However she saved me from certain death after the council speaker ordered me to be shot after I spoke out against his conspiracy. It doesn't matter what she did ten years ago, but Aenera Manavyndir and her bodyguard are heroes."

The reporter then tried to interview the king, who still was jumpy. "Your highness..." The reporter said before being interrupted by the king: "It's like they said. No further comment. Now please stop looking for a smear story." The news then switched back to the in-studio newscaster. "Thanks Evareus Soothand. In other breaking news, Evareus Soothand will be relieved from his position as a reporter and will be back to being the weatherman. The network manager voiced his disappointment for Mr. Soothand's repeated bias in reporting and that it is dishonorable to engage in tabloid nonsense and that Mr. Soothand should be happy he still has a job."

"I seem to have misjudged Aenera." Kren said. "However, I didn't see her on the news. They only mentioned her."
Click to expand...
Ajax chuckled in a friendly manner as he was getting up. "Ah, I thought I'd be found out by someone as powerful as you. Thanks." He said as he accepted the tea. Hekate sat back down as this revelation was so bewildering to her. She didn't even notice Faena just threatened her. She looked up at Aenera was about to agree but Ajax cleared his throat seemingly in interruption. "And if the ultranationalists were to hear that, they'd want her head even more." He said firmly. His friendly expression soon gone and was replaced by his seriousness again. "Snezhnaya is a prideful and patriotic nation. Even more so than it should. The ultranationalists would go to a full out war to have Hekate's... I mean, Adriesta's head. Lotta blood will be shed then." Hekate soon turned to Ajax and questioned him. "Why... Do they want my death in the first place?" With that, Ajax decided to explain more.

"You're familiar how the first Tsaritsa came to be, right? It is said that a God descended down to us to lead her worshipers to a better future during the War of the Gods. That part's a bit iffy since we can only rely on ancient texts from scribes who may or may not be biased. But there is fact in it." He said before taking another sip of the tea as he stood firmly. "That God had a child with one of their worshipers and they both ruled over the people during that time. When the war settled down, all the other Gods finally stopped waring and looked towards futures of peace after having enough land to provide for their worshipers and made their own countries. That's how Snezhnaya came to be. Our God was the strongest as they were definitely a force to be reckoned with, the best warrior among all the others. Then, Tsars and Tsaritsas and other generations came to be from that God's and their spouse's family. You currently carry the blood of the God that we worship which makes you fit to rule over us. But of course, times change."

Ajax took a deep breath and sighed. "Ultranationalists who are way too patriotic for the land started to be ignited by the idea that Snezhnaya should start an empire and dominate other countries by going to war with everyone. For awhile, the current Tsaritsa has been suppressing them using Umbra Catervae's Shadow Company and us, the Fatui Harbingers even before you were born. However, when she conceived you, that's when the balloon really went up. Assassins were sent but easily put down. Though, that doesn't guarantee your safety. They decided to send you to Avastenir, a country overseas for safety along with two of our Harbingers who loved each other but were impotent to have a child." He took another deep breath. "As for me, I didn't know you were to become the next Tsaritsa. I honestly did love you. But hearing that you'd be the next, I didn't want the pressure to become a Tsar in return. The current Tsar too was assassinated when news came out that the royal family was going to have a daughter. If I didn't want that pressure to be with you when you became the next Tsaritsa and face those problems with you, I knew you deserved better. But perhaps I was too harsh in our breakup to even make a cover up about it."

He then shook his head. "Anyway, back to the topic at hand. With the way things are going which are leading to even more times of peace with a military might that isn't being put to actual use, the ultranationalists grow restless but they're shifty little rats. If you make a contract about alliance, they may come for your people next and they might even start coming from Snezhnaya in an appearance of a military invasion." Hekate raised her eyebrows. "But if we form it here, no one would know. Right?" Ajax shook his head once again. "You have to be even more careful. There's a saying in one of the countries we deal a lot of business with. The walls have ears. Nothing can be dealt in true secrecy and I'm not going to take any chances. If they caught wind of it, it'll spark a civil war so it's no good. I doubt such alliance would need to be made to prevent raising war with each other in the first place."

Soon Ajax finished his tea and set the empty cup on the table and cleared his throat. "Anyway, that pretty much covers everything. We just need to hide Adriesta's true identity until she can be given the title by the Tsaritsa herself, her biological mother. So far, there are many who try to impersonate as the rumored daughter so they could be royalty for their own gains. Especially daughters from noble families. The plan is that we have to be patient before we could make a return to Snezhnaya and grant you the title of Tsaritsa. We just have to wait until you become twenty one years of age before we can make that happen..." Hekate looked at Aenera and then back to Ajax raising an eyebrow. "But... I am twenty one." Ajax looked at her in way that could tell anyone that he fucked up. "Fuck, we were supposed to bring you during your birthday since that's the only thing they ever recorded. After you were taken to Avastenir, there was to be absolutely no contact with you or your foster parents from anyone from the Fatui including her majesty, so we didn't even know what your face looked like until my Harbinger ceremony. They recognized the faces of your parents but not you yourself. But that was a long time ago so we couldn't go based on looks anymore. We just have to wait for your next birthday unless I bring you there personally because they want a Harbinger to vouch for you." Hekate thought about it for a moment before coming to a question regarding the impersonating daughters and other Harbingers. "Wait, doesn't that mean any Harbinger could vouch for me? Doesn't that mean that they could even vouch for any noble's daughter?" "No it won't since that duty was bestowed to me alone. And even if they didn't, the other Harbingers are highly loyal to the Tsaritsa to not let something like that happen."

Ajax knew he talked for awhile so he decided to try and recap it best as he could. "So. We can't do anything that seemed out of the ordinary. The ultranationalists at home don't know who you are but there are definitely some still in Avastenir. Kurosawa wasn't the only ringleader. There was some ultranationalists in the council room that were inevitably killed by your hand, but that means they might have even caught wind of your friend here being royalty. If some royalty made a contract with a commoner, something's up. More eyes would be on her then. And we also have to return you back to your mother soon so you can be crowned as the Tsarevna who will become the next Tsaritsa." Hekate shook her head. "But, I don't want that. I can't lead a life like that." Ajax took a brief pause before speaking again. "Look. You may not want it, but the people of Snezhnaya do. Especially your mother. This is fate and destiny that you cannot escape from. Besides, that doesn't mean you can't live out your life how you usually do. There would just be secretaries to handle your work, we'd only ask for you for pressing matters that need your attention and you'd have the Fatui in your palm. Let alone the Sangvis Ferri." "Sangvis what?" Hekate asked as she never knew of this. She's done research on Snezhnaya in a curiosity binge but never heard of it.

"Of course you never heard of it. It's a secret group that rivals the Fatui but they are the Tsaritsa's personal servants and army. And whenever they're deployed for a mission, they leave no trace that they were even there or existed. We Fatui even have to make deals to keep those who saw but aren't targets silent and do away with any report that's related to the Sangvis Ferri. How they became to be is unknown to me. All I know is that they have the numbers and combat effectiveness to invade a country by themselves." He stated. "Anyway, that's all I think." Hekate just sat in silence in her chair thinking it all over. Ajax looked to Aenera and gestured for her to follow him outside. "Hey girlie. Come with me for a moment. I need to have a talk with you."
 
"clearly she escaped somehow, there's no telling the method she could have used though." Jayce sighed with some relief that it seemed like she didn't start anything, "I kind of underestimated the hatred people have for her if I'm honest. even when she saves the king and council members there's someone trying to make her out to be the villain. I'm glad that was at least taken care of." Jayce glances at the other people on the bus and then back to his companions, "well I guess we can't really do anything but wait, huh?"
 
"Even if they want to go to war over a person, as long as they dont touch the old city, I'd stay out of it. But if they even touched it, I'd be ready to make the world burn." Faena said. Aenera then said: "First you need to be able to leave this place, but you don't want to and chickened out last time I tried to get you to leave." "If the reason is right I'd leave this place." Faena replied.

Faena turned to Childe: "Don't worry about secrets and stuff in this place. People don't come in or out unless I allow them. Any spies or assassins I would have killed already if they'd still be hiding."

When Childe asked Aenera to follow him out, she told him: "Don't call me girlie. I am 31 years old. Also, try anything funny then you'll be facing a world of pain. If I don't hurt you, Faena definitely would." Aenera followed him out to see what he has to tell her.

----Yfirryn----

"Aenera and Hekate probably escaped with a portal or something. They might be back at the house already. Who knows? Aenera has lots of enemies, so after probably getting rid of a lot of them, many are on alert." Kren said.

The bus took them to a large building in the downtown area. There they were given some food and drink and were offered to stay at the building until things cleared up or roam the downtown area until given the clearance to head back.

"We could still go to the museum of technology while we wait until we can head back." Kren said. "What do you say?" "Yeah let's go!" Yfirryn said.
 
Aniihya said:
"Even if they want to go to war over a person, as long as they dont touch the old city, I'd stay out of it. But if they even touched it, I'd be ready to make the world burn." Faena said. Aenera then said: "First you need to be able to leave this place, but you don't want to and chickened out last time I tried to get you to leave." "If the reason is right I'd leave this place." Faena replied.

Faena turned to Childe: "Don't worry about secrets and stuff in this place. People don't come in or out unless I allow them. Any spies or assassins I would have killed already if they'd still be hiding."

When Childe asked Aenera to follow him out, she told him: "Don't call me girlie. I am 31 years old. Also, try anything funny then you'll be facing a world of pain. If I don't hurt you, Faena definitely would." Aenera followed him out to see what he has to tell her.

----Yfirryn----

"Aenera and Hekate probably escaped with a portal or something. They might be back at the house already. Who knows? Aenera has lots of enemies, so after probably getting rid of a lot of them, many are on alert." Kren said.

The bus took them to a large building in the downtown area. There they were given some food and drink and were offered to stay at the building until things cleared up or roam the downtown area until given the clearance to head back.

"We could still go to the museum of technology while we wait until we can head back." Kren said. "What do you say?" "Yeah let's go!" Yfirryn said.
Click to expand...
Once they were both outside, Ajax leaned against the wall and waited for a moment for Aenera to settle down outside. "Well, I'm assuming with how protective you are about Adriesta that you're a good friend of hers. I don't think I have to say this but I'm going to anyway." He said before taking a breath. "I'm entrusting her safety to you while I go back to Snezhnaya to report to her majesty. When she will receive the official title as the Tsarevna, we would like you to be there. You and your friends. It's... a formal tradition to have close friends of the one whom the ceremony is being held for to come and witness. And well, since her going off the grid, you're pretty much her only group of friends. Even if you've only known her for a day, I can sort of tell you're looking out for her." He said before offering his hand out for a handshake. He was also holding out a small piece of paper that contained supposedly his commu number. "Call this line if you need anything else. The Fatui and I will assist any way we can. Even if you don't need it." He said. "I will also ask for your commu number. I do need to contact you for when we can make the trip to Snezhnaya happen. It must happen soon, within four months. Snezhnaya and the Tsaritsa cannot wait any longer." He said as he held a serious gaze towards Aenera.

Hekate, or Adriesta, was still thinking about the whole situation. Never in her life that she thought that she was ever royalty. Being a friend and acquittance of one is mind blowing already, but being one herself... It just seems so ridiculous. Her whole life was set up and covered up from the very beginning. Her parents weren't her real parents but Harbingers that the Tsaritsa had assigned a mission to, entrusting them with her one and only daughter, an heir to the throne. Even though she now knows that her parents weren't really her own, she still sees them as such and their deaths continue to carry such weight in her memories. But now she has to worry about going to Snezhnaya and meeting all the Harbingers, the most powerful group of individuals in Snezhnaya and the Tsaritsa herself. Not only that, she has to learn of the Sangvis Ferri and be fond of them. And then there's noble families, politicians, and... and... This entire thought process was just adding on to her stress which she couldn't even fathom how to deal with let alone process. She just sat in her chair overthinking needless things that she shouldn't be worrying about at present.
 
"Ok sure, it's better than waiting here." He then whispers to his companions, "not that they could probably stop us if we really wanted to go." Then back to his normal voice, "I also want to start learning some more useful magic. Anything that will let me protect those I care about. I'm done feeling worthless." He says this with a determined expression, he may never rise to her level but he will do his best and maybe one day be second only to her. Who knows if that's possible but a goal is a goal.
 
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